Defenders TV series confirms its showrunners

With Luke Cage due in September and more casting announcements for Iron Fist taking place by the second, you could be forgiven for thinking that the people behind The Defenders might be taking a breather. Not so. With it recently being confirmed that Jessica Jones Season 2 may have to be postponed to allow Marvel’s Netflix team-up to happen on schedule, a further sense of urgency has been added by the announcement of who’s involved behind the scenes.

Daredevil co-showrunners Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez have been confirmed to head up The Defenders, while the same show’s creator, Drew Goddard, is on board as executive producer.

Speaking in a press release, Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb said of the news: “We’re incredibly excited to be able to bring our four street level heroes together in an epic tale woven by Doug and Marco whose work on ‘Marvel’s Daredevil’ speaks for itself. They write and produce not only great action and adventure, but also the heart and touch of humor that’s makes us Marvel. With the inclusion of Drew Goddard, we’ve got a team that’s as formidable as the Defenders themselves.”

This news would point to the likelihood of Matt Murdock being the lead character – hell, it’ll be interesting to see how they all end up together in the first place – which makes sense considering he’s the best-known of the four, although in our view Jessica Jones has been marginally the better show, so it’s a shame for of its crew aren’t there in lead roles. Then again, considering how dark Daredevil Season 2 was, we’re sure The Defenders won’t be radically different in tone from Jessica Jones in any case.